Summary

The provided content outlines the importance of planning in writing a book, emphasizing the need to know your message, audience, and intentions before starting the writing process.

Abstract

The text discusses the misconception that writing should begin with immediate content creation, advocating instead for a comprehensive planning phase. It suggests that the initial stages of book writing should focus on understanding the message at three levels: surface, deeper, and core. The surface message is what attracts readers, the deeper message is the key takeaway, and the core message addresses fundamental human fears. The author stresses that planning allows for a clear understanding of the message, audience, and intentions, which in turn facilitates a more creative and effortless writing process. The text also provides a task for the reader to determine their own three levels of message and mentions that the book this content is excerpted from was previously published and is now being updated and shared incrementally on a new platform.

Opinions

The author believes that planning is crucial to writing a book and should not be skipped or rushed.
There is a critique of the common advice given to amateur writers to simply start writing without a plan.
The author argues that planning does not stifle creativity but rather enhances it by allowing the writer to focus on the message and audience.
The text suggests that understanding the three levels of message (surface, deeper, and core) is essential for resonating with readers and achieving personal growth.
The author is of the opinion that consistency in writing, as demonstrated by their own experience, is key to completing a book.
The author values the importance of the core message, which should address one of the three universal fears: the fear of not being loved, the fear of not belonging, or the fear of not being enough.
The author encourages writers to simplify their message rather than complicate it, ensuring clarity and impact.
The text implies that the updated version of the book is being shared to provide immediate value to readers while the full original copy is available on Amazon.

BOOK CHAPTER

#3 . 10 Minute Author — Plan

Task 1: Know your message

Adapted by author from photo by Vlada Karpovich from Pexels

#2. 10 Minute Author — Introduction

Introduction to writing with consistency

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PART 1: PLAN

The first step on your journey to writing a book in 10 minutes a day is not simply to sit down and start writing. So often I hear amateur writers tell others that the first step to writing is to sit down and write. I agree with this if the writing is simply to explore but this should never be the way to start writing a full book. The real first step is in fact to plan. You should spend your first few days, weeks, and maybe even months, planning. Your first 10 minutes a day should not be writing but rather it should be focused on knowing your message, knowing your audience, knowing your intentions, planning your book, and even conducting research.

I have come across this misguided belief that if you plan, then it becomes two robotic and you lose the unbridled beauty and meandering contrast of creative flow. And this is what I say to that: If you plan your story or your content, and you know what you’re going to include so that it resonates with your reader, and you know your message at the deepest level that you wish to share, and if you’ve completed your research, you no longer have to think when you get to the writing. The effect that this has is that you subconsciously know what you want to achieve, your target audience, and where your story is going so you don’t have to consciously pay too much attention which means you’re actually in a position to allow more creativity to flow.

Get your thinking done at the start so that you can get out of the way. Writing starts with mindset, so get yours focused. Do you think I wrote a book in only 10 minutes a day without knowing exactly what I was going to write about every day? I spent 10 minutes a day on my planning. Then I spent 10 minutes a day on my creation. Then I spent 10 minutes a day on sharing. It didn’t happen by accident, it happened by design.

Let’s explore planning in more depth.

Know Your Message

Before you begin writing, knowing your message is one of the most powerful and yet under-utilized steps towards success as an author. And more importantly, it’s one of the most important steps towards the completion of your project. Having a message and knowing what that message is on three different levels of depth will allow you to get out of the way and create a work that will naturally and effortlessly share your message with the world.

What are you writing — fiction or nonfiction? One of the most important things that you need to consider is the message that you’re providing your audience. In fiction, your message may be related to social commentary or it may be a psychological message of self-love. In non-fiction, your message could be as simple as, ‘You can do it.’ Do not overcomplicate your message.

Consider your message at three levels of interpretation and personal development. There is a surface message that you’ll present which will usually be the message that connects with your audience and encourages them to read your book. Next will be your deeper message which is what you really want them to take away. Use the surface message to encourage them to read your book and then provide them with a deeper message as a takeaway point that they can utilize for their personal growth.

The final level of the message, your core message, may not even be one that you share directly with your audience, but it should be one that you’re aware of and this goes for fiction and nonfiction. Ideally, your deepest message should address one of the three universal fears:

The fear of not being loved
The fear of not belonging
The fear of not being enough

Your core message, when you dig as deep as possible, will be either you are loved, you do belong, or you are enough in whatever shape or form you choose to deliver that message.

So, what is the message that you want to share, what is the message that you want your audience to receive? Knowing the three levels of the message will allow you to quite naturally interweave this into your writing. The beauty of planning and knowing where you’re going is that when it comes to the actual creation of words, you can get out of the way and let it flow.

For example, for this very book, I went through the process of determining the three levels of the message. The surface message is that you can write a book in only 10 minutes a day. The deeper message is that consistency will get you the results you seek. The core message is that you are enough. Think about that and see how it sits with you.

Think about your message at the three levels. What is the marketing message (surface message), what is the deep message, and what is your core message? Again, remember that this is relevant for fiction and non-fiction and to simplify rather than complicate.

Know your three levels of the message in the back of your mind as you write and you will not need to ‘effort’ in the creation, for your message will naturally weave its way through your delivery.

YOUR TASK: Determine your three levels of Message

#4. 10 Minute Author — Plan

Task 2: Know your ideal reader

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This book was written a few years ago and published in 2020; however, since then, I have closed the program and website that it refers to so, I need to update it. What better way than to share it on here? I’ll be sharing a chapter (or part of a chapter) every week but if you can’t wait for the updated version to dribble out to you, you can access the full original copy on Amazon now.

10 Minute Author: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Your Book in Only 10 Minutes a Day (Write Now…

10 Minute Author: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Your Book in Only 10 Minutes a Day (Write Now Book Writing Series…

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About Me — KP-the-Writer

Podcaster, writer, and queer, oh my

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